The caustic writer Camille Paglia is a strong supporter of President Obama. But she is appalled at the health care reform bill and the president’ performance in its pursuit. She brings up another problem with the bill that has received too little attention. From her Salon column:
The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would be Byzantine beyond belief and would vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy.
As with the massive boondoggle of the stimulus package, which Obama foolishly let Congress turn into a pork rut, too much has been attempted all at once; focused, targeted initiatives would, instead, have won wide public support. How is it possible that Democrats, through their own clumsiness and arrogance, have sabotaged healthcare reform yet again? Blaming obstructionist Republicans is nonsensical because Democrats control all three branches of government. It isn’t conservative rumors or lies that are stopping healthcare legislation; it’s the justifiable alarm of an electorate that has been cut out of the loop and is watching its representatives construct a tangled labyrinth for others but not for themselves. No, the airheads of Congress will keep their own plush healthcare plan — it’s the rest of us guinea pigs who will be thrown to the wolves.
Yes, think about the red tape, indeed, have nightmares about its endless loops and knots. Targeted reform would have helped improve an already generally good system. But that wouldn’t have brought power to DC. And so we get this mess.
August 12th, 2009 | 9:58 am
Certainly we want to minimize the bureaucracy, but has anybody that’s worried about this filed a health insurance claim lately? Or failed to file a claim simply because it’s too much trouble for the amount of money involved?
I’m primarily covered by an HMO, and rarely see a bill other than prescription co-pays. The only health insurance I have left is supplemental dental. The last time I filed a claim they sent me excessive and erroneous bills for three months straight, and my instructions in each case were “just ignore them.” Each of those bills cost considerable money to generate and distribute, with no return. And people worry about GOVERNMENT bureaucracy?
The health insurance industry has little incentive to streamline their claim service. In fact they have NEGATIVE incentive. In some cases if they wait to approve payment for a given treatment, the patient does them the favor of expiring before undergoing treatment. Anybody else noticed it’s easier to file an auto insurance claim than a health insurance claim?
That’s what amazes me about all this hysterical talk about “health care rationing” and “death panels” under a new health system. We already have all that, we just call them “underwriting” and “claims reviewers.”
Unless, of course, you’re uninsured, in which case your health care ration is zero.
August 13th, 2009 | 4:07 pm
How can she be this smart and have supported Obama in the first place?
August 20th, 2009 | 1:24 am
Not sure what you mean, padraig? My cash seems to be good enough for my doctor (and I’m hardly rich).
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